Smallbone Avis 130

Marco arranged for us a visit by Dean to fix a drawer that got misaligned after 6 years.

Dean was fantastic fixing the issue and highly knowledgeable.

Thank you to both of you

It could not have been a better customer service experience - really mirroring the quality of the products.

Upon arrival into the showroom we were kindly greeted by Kish. He politely described the history of the firm as well as some of the features that are present in the showroom. It is abundantly clear that Kish has a great deal of passion and extensive knowledge about what is offered. The warm hospitality offered to us was highly appreciated, and we look forward to checking in again soon.

Judith dealt with the situation with pure professionalism. Her responses to my emails were clear and timely and the outcome was achieved within a short timescale and to a standard that exceeded my expectations

Liz was phenomenal. Her advice and guidance was invaluable and she was professional to the hilt. I called Liz at the start of my kitchen journey and she has supported me and offered unparalleled advice each step of the way. I would not be without her service.
Thank you so very much and wishing you all the best.

The staff at Smallbone Gallery were helpful and gracious . The gallery space is very modern, light and inviting . I will definitely visit there again.

I dislike writing poor reviews and have been a repeat customer and very positive reviewer of Smallbone in the past. I very sadly urge anyone not to give Smallbone/Lux Group your business until the management and senior operational staff have been fundamentally overhauled. My kitchen should have been finished in May 2022. It's just finished in Jan 2023 at additional cost to me in delays of probably 6 figures. The end result is good and they did finish, supplying temp appliances when the final products were delayed, but every single member of senior management I dealt with left. Look on glass door. They refused to make price concessions for their countless faults, raised prices heavily after prices were agreed in writing and deposits paid and the installation service was absolutely abismal. It repeatedly took 3 weeks to get a response. They and another supplier literally crippled our house reno. Bring back the Smallbone we used to know. There are a few great people left there but overall what an absolute shame and a case study in chronic mismanagement that started a number of years ago with the previous owner.

I inherited a Smallbone kitchen in a new flat I purchased. The kitchen is beautiful but ten years + on now so the appliances had issues after so long. The induction hob was stuck into the marble surround and needed removal to replace the parts. The regular engineer couldn’t help ( fear of damage to hob and surrounding marble) so I contacted Smallbone. They arranged two highly competent technicians to remove the hob enabling me to fix it - it wasn’t an easy task and they managed without fuss or damage. I didn’t purchase the kitchen and I’m sure it’s long out of warranty date but they were so willing to help me. Amazing service and I understand what their excellent reputation is all about.

Dear Sir/Madam,
This email is simply to commend your employee, Marco Tesconi, for his high standards of service and professionalism!
I would also mention that the gentleman who did the job was also very professional & efficient!

Assem El-Khairy
30 South Street,
Mayfair,
London

Nice quick service. Charlie was able to repair my draw and straighten a door handle. Everything is now fully working and fully fixed.

Marco in Customer Services responded quickly and helped to resolve my problem with a cupboard which had been installed in 1998! Charlie the fitter found the fault and fixed it very quickly. Both men were polite and helpful all through this trying experience, which was sorted within a week.

Very poor service. The installation was incredibly slow and delayed. Very hard to contact them and get any information. Not worth the money in my opinion.

Google smallbones Devizes and companies house.

Dissolved?

Very attentive and quick to respond. They really listened to our needs.

Our experience with your company was not good, taking a year to fit a kitchen, utility room and bedrooms until Amy Coburn took over. She is definitely five star. Amy has moved the work on significantly in our new bungalow, probably a small job for your company but nearly £100K for us. She has done everything she said she would do often with a lack of support from your company. She has excellent customer relations knowing that customer is top priority. She gets things done and keeps in contact in a friendly and helpful way. You need to know and appreciate the fact that Amy will be a real loss to your company when she moves on
Kind regards
Marilyn and Mike Watsham

I must say i had no intention of visiting the Smallbone showroom however upon my stroll through Knightsbridge a few weekends ago i am so pleased i did. Working in the property sector it was breath-taking to see their beautiful bespoke kitchens. The layout of the showroom felt like i was in a luxury museum, the staff were lovely and very knowledgeable and the art gallery was amazing. Would highly recommended for anyone local to the Knightsbridge area to have a look.

After a lot of delivery issues with another third-party company, I have finally called the customer service to sort out a problem that looked impossible to solve. Joelle Pedroso and George Smith took care of the issue and they have sorted out everything in just 1 day (while i have spent a month+ with the other company). I speak with a lot of company reps taking care of customers but Joelle and George have demonstrated a top service standard level. Well done!

** Expert Witness Conclusion **

“A combination of poor quality products, missing goods, and defective project management has resulted in a fitted kitchen of a value that bears no relation to the contract price. Smallbone is widely recognised in the kitchen industry as representing the highest quality of fitted kitchen innovation, manufacture, design, installation and project management. Accordingly, any Smallbone project would be expected to fall within that reputation and any consumer buying a Smallbone kitchen would be entitled to expect the highest possible standard of service based on that reputation in return for paying a premium price. The kitchen installed for the Householders falls far short of this expectation. At the date of my inspection, there remained a significant number of goods still to be supplied, workmanship to correct, and poor quality products to be replaced. My inspection took place nearly 15 weeks after work started, and the extent of outstanding work and supplies, together with questionable quality of some of the materials, is entirely unacceptable for this time frame. I would expect substantial completion of a kitchen of this scope, meaning that the installation is fully useable, no more than 4 weeks after starting work, including the installation of specialist worktops made to site templates during the main installation phase…”

“Based on my inspection and the correspondence between the parties that has been made available to me, the Retailer has shown a lack of competence and interest in the Householders needs throughout the project. To move forward, my recommendation is that the Householders give the Retailer 4 weeks from the date of this report to correct and finish the kitchen to the standard that would be expected of a kitchen specialist of the national stature of Smallbones, the minimum standard being the work and supplies outlined in this report, and failing that standard being achieved, they take legal advice…”

** My conclusion **

Smallbone of Devizes is one of a series of brands trading under the Private Equity backed Lux Group umbrella. From my own experience, speaking to other customers and what I have read here, these brands are little more than a series of elaborate marketing campaigns, which trade off the reputation of individuals who have long since left the businesses. This is presumably why Land Rovers and digital art are prevalent in their showroom: to distract people from their products.

The customer experience we received once the deposits had been paid for our kitchen was comical. We were passed from a sales designer, to a package designer before being left at the mercy of an installation manager in an entirely disjointed process. In our case the kitchen was value engineered between sign-off with the designer and the contract being issued - to his credit a Director at Smallbone admitted this.

A trick Smallbone plays is to issue simple line drawings within their contracts, as well as sketch visuals which they caveat as being illustrative. They rely on this to allow them to interpret whatever they like during fabrication and installation.

The sales designer also sold us all sorts of fitted furniture throughout the house, which the installation manager on visiting our home during refurbishment said the business couldn’t deliver - ‘we don’t do that!’. In spite of this, deposits were only returned after my solicitor intervened, almost a year later.

In terms of the kitchen, customer services were hopeless throughout, never having a record of what had been delivered, when the next delivery would be and what it might contain. Our appliances weren’t ordered on time, exacerbating well known external supply issues. Having a 3 month old baby and 2.5 year old only added to the stress. Temporary appliances were promised but never materialised.

As set out above, the quality of furniture bears no relation to Smallbone’s reputation or the contract value. What we expected was for our kitchen to have been crafted and assembled in a workshop, dismantled and delivered to site where it should have been installed in little over a few weeks. Instead we enjoyed 3rd party fitters cutting down doors and shelves and treating our now newly refurbished home as a workshop for months. The fitters joked about the price we had paid and the quality of the furniture they were installing.

We apointed an expert witness to assess at 15 weeks post installation. 52 weeks past our initial installation date our patience finally expired and we terminated our contract. We are appointing a joiner to put into effect the expert witness’s recommendations.

Remarkably, Smallbone are fully aware of the situation outlined and consider themselves not to be in breach of contract.

On the way back from V&A museum, came across Smallbone, where we were approached by a lovely handsome gentleman named Kish. Who gave us a tour of the beautiful space and explained the background of the company. The art work was phenomenal, we were extremely happy with the experience. We will be back, see you again.

As I was heading to Harrods, I spotted an enormous sculpture of a spaceman through some open doors to a beautiful space that looked like an art gallery, which I hadn’t seen before. I was greeted by a lovely lady called Liliya who happens to be the manager there. She was kind enough to show me around and talk me through the concept for the space and shared more about the business, which is a new showroom for Smallbone and I got to learn more about Smallbone’s craftsmanship, as well as the art in the space, which was a great experience. I have already recommended the space to a couple of friends and will be coming back soon!

Working with Craig Trainer on our NYC kitchen was an exceptional experience! Craig is an original! We’ve never met someone like him who just ‘gets’ what his clients are saying and then is willing to go through all the details with you to create something beautiful and functional. His professionalism, humor, positivity, and thought leadership make the odyssey of a home kitchen renovation incredibly enjoyable, pleasant, and organized. His service to his customers is A+ and he delivers on his word! A trusted leader among architects, designers, and clients with a passion for the art he creates!